The media sector in India has undergone enormous transformations over the last decade, with the proliferation of digital media and the advent of social media. India Today is a large market for media companies, and startups are seizing the opportunity to disrupt the industry with innovative goods and services. Indian media is consumed by audiences of various demographics and across multiple media channels, including television, movies, out-of-home (OOH), radio, animation and visual effects (VFX), music, video games, digital advertising, live events, filmed entertainment, and print.
India’s media sector is broad and complicated, presenting opportunities and problems for emerging firms. On the one hand, the enormous population represents a sizeable market for media products and services. On the other hand, big corporations dominate the traditional industry, controlling the majority of advertising money and distribution channels. This makes it difficult for entrepreneurs to establish a presence in the market.
However, the growth of digital media and social media has created new chances for startups to disrupt the sector. With the advent of smartphones and low-cost internet, consumers are increasingly consuming media on digital platforms. This has resulted in the creation of new business models like subscription-based services, digital advertising, and influencer marketing. Furthermore, entrepreneurs can use technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning to develop personalised and interesting content for customers.
Top 4 Media Startups in India
DailyHunt
DailyHunt is one of India’s most popular news and local language content portals. This platform, which was founded in 2009 and is located in Bengaluru, has grown significantly.
Stonebridge Capital led a Series F fundraising round in August 2019, raising $3 million (Rs 21.75 crore). DailyHunt has over 1,00,000 news articles in 14 vernacular languages, licensed from 800 publisher partners. They also provide advertisers with a platform to target the right demographic.
Lokal
This Bengaluru-based startup was founded in 2018, by Vishal Chaudhary and Jani Pasha. Lokal is the newest member to join the club of media startups that provide users with local news based on their location and in their local languages.They’ve made this possible by acquiring news through a curated network of journalists and freelancers.
The latest round of funding which Lokal has raised is of $3 million from 3one4 Capital, Y Combinator, RB Investments, SOMA Capital, and its existing investor – India Quotient. The app is targeting 900 million non-English speaking users ofIndia. Currently the app has more than 3 million downloads in 27 districts across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh, and they’re planning on expanding their reach in three other states.
Samosa Labs
Samosa Labs, a firm with a unique name, is a social media and chat entertainment software. They made headlines for raising $7 million in a new investment round sponsored by Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi and Sequoia Capital India. They offer user-generated music and GIFs, which can be shared on other social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp.
Samosa Labs offers an online integration with WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger that enables the sharing of all bulk movies made on this platform, and the companies perceive this as an efficient approach to drive traffic and engage in digital marketing. In the last 6 months, the platform has seen its daily active users rise from 50,000 to 5,00,000 which is almost 10-fold, post launching video-based content.
ShareChat
ShareChat, a social networking site similar to Facebook and Twitter, enables users to share and find trending information, with a monthly user base of 60 million. ShareChat was developed in 2015 by Bhanu Singh Pratap, Farid Ahsan, and Ankush Sachdeva, all IIT-Kanpur alumni.
They made headlines after raising $100 million in Series D fundraising in 2019. As it seeks to expand its business, this media firm plans to upgrade its platform’s technological infrastructure. Currently, there are 4 million active monthly users who share 2,00,000 daily posts on ShareChat making it one of the most used social media platforms in India.
Conclusion
To be successful in the market, India’s media sector must have a large customer base. In an era when trends are always shifting and great ideas are the ones that survive the market, these five digital media firms are leading the way for a creative future.
Blog By:
Anshita Gupta,
Assistant Professor,
Biyani Girls College